Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people (especially adults) are baptized and that adult catechumens and candidates are received into full communion with the Church. It is held after sunset on the evening of Holy Saturday, but it is considered to be the first celebration of Easter Sunday since, in Church (and Jewish) reckoning, days begin at sunset the night before. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Easter Vigil includes the first use of the word alleluia since the beginning of Lent and is the most important Mass of the liturgical year as well as the first celebration of the Eucharist during the fifty-day long celebration of Easter. Similarly, in Eastern Orthodoxy, the Divine Liturgy which is celebrated during the Easter Vigil is the most elaborate and important of the ecclesiastical year. The Easter Vigil has gained similar regard in many of the churches of the Anglican Communion and has also been adopted by some Lutherans.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Easter Vigil consists of four parts:
- The Service of Light
- The Liturgy of the Word
- Christian Initiation and the Renewal of Baptismal Vows
- Holy Eucharist
The service begins after sundown on Holy Saturday as the crowd gathers inside the unlit church. In the darkness (often in a side chapel of the church building or, preferably, outside the church), a new fire is kindled and blessed by the priest. This new fire symbolizes the light of salvation and hope that God brought into the world through Christ's Resurrection, dispelling the darkness of sin and death. From this fire is lit the Paschal candle, symbolizing the Light of Christ. This Paschal candle will be used throughout the season of Easter, remaining in the sanctuary of the Church or near the lectern, and throughout the coming year at baptisms and funerals, reminding all that that Christ is "light and life."
All baptized Christians present (i.e. those who have received the "Light of Christ") receive candles which are lit from the Paschal candle. As this symbolic "Light of Christ" spreads throughout those gathered, the darkness is decreased. A deacon, or the priest if there is no deacon, carries the Paschal Candle at the head of the entrance procession and, at three points, stops and chants the proclamation "Light of Christ" or "Christ our Light," to which the people respond "Thanks be to God." Once the procession concludes, the deacon or a cantor chants the Exultet (also called the "Easter Proclamation"), and, the church remaining lit only by the people's candles and the Paschal candle, the people take their seats for the Liturgy of the Word.
The Liturgy of the Word consists of between two and ten readings from the Hebrew Scriptures, detailing salvation history. The story of the Exodus is given particular attention in the readings since it is considered to be the Old Testament antetype of Christian salvation. Each reading is followed by a psalm. After these readings conclude, a fanfare may sound on the organ and additional musical instruments and the Gloria in Excelsis Deo is sung for the first time since the beginning of Lent. Some churches also sing the Gloria on Holy (or Maundy) Thursday. During this outburst of musical jubilation the congregation's candles are extinguished, the church lights are turned on, and bells rung while the church's decorative furnishings — altar frontals, the reredos, lectern hangings, processional banners, statues and paintings — which had been stripped or covered during Holy Week, are ceremonially replaced and unveiled and flowers are placed on altars and elsewhere. Members of the congregation may have been encouraged to bring flowers which are also brought forward and placed about the sanctuary and side altars. A reading from the Epistle to the Romans is proclaimed. The Alleluia is sung, the Gospel follows, along with a homily.
After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, any catechumens or candidates for full communion are initated into the church, by baptism and/or confirmation, respectively. After the baptisms, while the newly baptised are being clothed in white baptismal garments, the congregation renews their baptismal vows. Then all adults baptised at the Easter Vigil, and all adult candidates for full communion are confirmed by the priest celebrant (rather than by the Diocesan Bishop, as in the case of children). The general intercessions follow.
Following the confirmations, the Liturgy of the Eucharist continues as usual.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church the service runs as follows with some minor local variations:
- The Midnight Office is served on Holy Saturday shortly before midnight.
- All the lights in the church are extinguished. A new fire is struck in the altar and distributed to the people. All the clergy and the people exit the church and process three times around it while singing a hymn.
- Before the front doors of the church, ideally at the stroke of midnight, the chief celebrant gives the exclamation for the beginning of Matins. The clergy followed by the people sing the Paschal troparion and the Paschal greeting "Christ is risen!" "Truly He is risen!" is exchanged for the first time. To the singing of the troparion, everyone enters the church.
- The rest of Matins is celebrated according to special Paschal rubrics.
- The Paschal Hours are sung.
- The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated as usual, but with special features in commemoration of the feast.
The candles lit near the beginning are held by the people throughout the entire service, just as is done by the newly baptized. At some convenient moment, normally following Matins, the Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom is proclaimed. Following the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy blessed eggs dyed red are usually distributed to the people for the breaking of the fast, and baskets of food for the feast that follows are blessed with holy water. The service is generally finished by about 3:00 a.m.
Oriental Orthodoxy
Indian Orthodox Church
In the Indian Orthodox Church the Vigil begins in the evening after the service on Good Friday. The faithful spend time in the church reading from the scriptures and singing hymns.
The Church celebarates this most important festival in the church calendar, as per the Georgian Calendar.
Traditionally, the principal service which corresponds to the Easter Vigil in Eastern and Western rites would be conducted in the early hours of the morning, typically at around 3 a.m. on Sunday. It is still the case in many parts of Kerala, the southern state in India where Christianity is believed to have been brought by St Thomas the Apostle in the first century. In many cities, however, the service is conducted after 6:00 p.m. on Saturday; this is also the case for practical reasons in former Christian lands of the Oriental Orthodox rite which now have Muslim majorities.
Easter marks the change in the set of prayers said and sung before the Eucharist. From Easter to the Feast of the Cross on September 14, the prayers follow the Liturgy of Easter.
Traditionally the Prayers of the Night and Midnight hours are said. Then follows the most dramatic moment in the service, the Announcement, when all the lights in the church are extinguished other than from the Altar candles and those held by those serving at the Altar. The Veil separating the sanctuary from the congregation is drawn aside. The chief celebrant stands in the centre of the sanctuary, holding a cross covered in a red embroidered cloth. This is the cross which has been used in the Good Friday service for the procession commemorating the Carrying of the Cross to Calvary and then ritually embalmed and buried in a small coffin-shaped box behind the Altar, to commemorate the Burial. The chief celebrant is flanked by the altar-servers, holding candles and hand-bells. In a loud voice, the chief celebrant announces to the congregation, “Dearly beloved, I bring you all news of great joy. Our Lord Jesus Christ has resurrected from the dead and defeated His enemies.” Amid the ringing of the hand-bells and church-bells, the congregation responds, "Truly, we believe that He is risen!” This is done three times.
The Easter Procession follows, in which the entire congregation, holding lighted candles, participates with the celebrants and the altar servers. The cross, covered in the red veil, used in the Announcement, is carried in procession around the church. The hymn sung during the procession describes Christ's answer to Mary Magdalene, when she sees him at the tomb and mistakes him for the gardener:
- O Mary! I am the Gardener truly,
- I am the One, Who established Paradise.
- I am the One Who was killed,
- I am the One Who entered the grave.
- Touch Me not, for I have not ascended to the Father.
- That I have gloriously arisen from that grave,
- Give thou this good news to the disciples.
Following this, the chief celebrant "celebrates" the Cross, by blessing the four directions while the Trisagion is said.
The chief celebrant gives the Kiss of Peace, commemorating Christ's wishing peace on the Apostles. This is passed on to the congregation. On this day alone the Kiss of Peace is given twice.
Prayers of the Morning hours follow, and the Holy Qurbana is then conducted as usual.
Since Easter also marks the end of the Great 50-day Lent the Service of Reconciliation (Shubhkono) is also held on this day. Special prayers are said.
At the end of the service, instead of the normal touching by the Chief Celebrant’s hand of the foreheads of each member of the congregation in blessing, the Easter Cross is used.
From Easter to the Feast of Ascension, the Easter Cross is moved from the centre of the church to a stand inside the sanctuary. This stand, called Golgotha, is itself shaped as a large cross. The Easter Cross is set on its head and the whole structure looks like a Patriarchal Cross. It had been set up in mid-Lent in the centre of the church and the faithful would kiss the cloth covering it while entering and leaving the church.
Although the Easter Vigil is not universal in the Anglican Communion, its use has become far more common in recent decades. Formerly it was only common in parishes in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.
The service follows more or less the same form as in the Roman Catholic Church though often with more music. The current version of the Book of Common Prayer used by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, for example, begins the service similarly to the description of the Roman Catholic service above, with some differences in names and custom. For example, the lessons from the Hebrew Scriptures number between three and nine.
The traditions differ mainly in that the service of baptism is held immediately after the reading of the lessons. Traditionally, adults who have not yet been baptised are baptised at this service, although children may be as well. Confirmations occur only when the bishop is present, because, in the Anglican tradition, only a bishop may administer confirmation.
After the service of baptism, the celebrant announces the ancient Easter acclamation "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" to which the people respond "The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!" The Gloria in Excelsis, Te Deum or Pascha Nostrum is then sung.
The service of the Holy Eucharist then continues as usual.